Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-03-18
THE R0SLlNDALE DISASTER
THE RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS BE-
GIN THEIR INVESTIGATION.
Raiiroad Employees had Always Regarded
the Bridge as Perfectly Safe The
Train Running 12 to 10 Miles an
Hour-About 80 Killed.

Boston, March 15.-The railroad com
mission this afternoon began an investi-
cation into the causes of the accident on
the Dedham branch of the Boston and
Providence railroad yesterday. There
were about dozen present, among whom
were Superintendent Folsom of the Provi-
dence road Mr.. George Putnam, counsel
FOR the road and Mr.. George f. Williams,
who appeared for certain of the injured.
Five employees of the road including the
superintendent of bridges and Conductor
Alden of the wrecked train were sworn
The first witness was w. A. Alden, one
of the conductors on the train, who testi-
fed that he had been a conduc.
tor on the branch since 1879 The
train was on time at Roslindale
and when it reached the bridge was going
at the rate of - miles an hour, the regu-
lar rate there were nine cars on the train,
eight coaches and a combination car, the
latter being in the rear; the forward cars
were very well filled, but the witness
could not say about the rear cars in the
two forward cars there were 80 or 80 pas
sengers Mr.. Tilden had charge of the
three middle cars and Mr.. Drake of the
three rear cars witness was in the second
Sar from the end at the time of the acct.
dent. When asked to describe AS nearly
as possible the nature of his experience
he witness said that that would be i'm
possible
when did you notice anything ont of
the way asked the chairman.
II did not have time to notice any
thing" replied the witness
The first he knew he was sitting right
on the floor with the cushions of the seats
all around him. There were only three or
four in the car when he picked himself
up, the others having got out of the doors
and windows. AS soon as he recovered
his senses somewhat he looked in the car
for the injured but found none, nor in the
car behind. That cor was torn in pieces
worse than his car, but nobody was in it.
Did not 90 into the front car at all. Then
| got into the next car behind the one |
was in; the two were torn apart The
car That ! went into was very much
wrecked. There was nobody there when
Z went in. Those three cars were all
there were on the Boston side of the
bridge. Then | went down the north side
Of the embankment and helped to get
the wounded and dead out.
In the reply to questions by Chairman
Crocker the witness said he had never
!elt any peculiar motion of that bridge in
going over it had never felt any jar of
the train as it was leaving the bridge had
never told anybody that he did not like
that bridge and never had any special anX-
lety in regard to that bridge.
Walter +. White, engineer of the
wrecked train, testified Was run.
ming IL to- 10 miles an hour at
I struck on to the bridge everything
seemed to he all right and strong with no
swinging, but when got on to the BOs-
ton end saw the forward end of the en-
CINE come out with a jar and the drivers
came along with shock. | looked around
and the forward car went Off the track
and the coupling broke. | reversed the en-
glne and was about to stop, when
! looked back and saw the first and second
cars OIL the track, and continued to look
back, and saw cloud of smoke rise, and
then | knew they had gone through the
bridge. | slowed up aud had almost
stopped when happened to think they
needed more hel p that we two could not do
much, and so | ran down to Forest Hills
as quickly rs could and summoned help
The first thing | felt of anything wrong
the bridge had dropped away any then;
| don't know anything about it | saw
The front of the engine rise up, but
have no idea how much the rise
was don't know II the rail was actually
broken at the time. | think the blow was
the hardest on the right side of the en-
CINE, but did not notice any canting
down. Ihe bridge was always AS solid
as rock. Never noticed anything wrong
with it. Have never thought this partlc-
ular bridge was not strong enough and
never felt any uneasiness about it,
Witness said ne could not say for his
life what caused the accident, whether
it was Il broken journal or broken wheel
or broken rail the jar seemed like when
you back off a table to go into engine
house when one rail is a little above the
other; he has felt the same thing exactly
when the engine had struck a broken rail.
lie was working steam over the bridge at
the time of the accident.
John Tripp of Dedham. the head brake
man, and Elisha g. Annis testified that
they had never noticed any jar to the
train in passing the bridge and had never
known anything to be the matter with it
AT this point the board adjourned until
TO morrow.
There have been no further deaths to-
lay at the hospitals of those who were in
cured III the railway disaster and the list
of killed is about IS, and injured about 50.
Nearly all of the injured are reported AS
doing well, although in a number of cases
L.Ltul [. li IALA..iIla